Fertilizer-mixer.



A. B. PIGKBTT.. FERTILIZEB. MIXER. APPLIUATION FILED MBQQG, 1910.

' Patented Aug.2o,1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

A. B. PICKBTT.'

PERTILIZER MIXER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 26, 191()` Patented Aug. 20, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

, fertilizing agents.

- TED STATES PATENT OFFICE. f

ARTHUR n. PICKETT, Aor UNIoN CITY, om AssIGNoB, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGN- Speecation of Letters Patent.

Ifbf'b coIIPANY, or BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, A

Patented Aug. 2o, 1912.

Application led March 26, 1910. Serial No. 551,647.

To all whom t may concern:

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Union City, in the county .of Darke and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Fertilizer-Mixers, of which t e foliowing is a specification.

My invention consists in a new machine for preparing compost or fertilizer.

Among the principal objects o f the invention are the provision of lan apparat-us which will miX-fertilizing materials in such a way that practically all-the valuable ingredients of manure, which is lused as the active base of the compost, are preserved and utilized.

Broadly described, my machine is con.- structed to carry out a process which consists in utilizing the active base and mixing the compost in such a manner that the active fertilizing agents of the manure are enabled to develop their greatest value with the addition of a minimum quantity of other In order to enable others to carry out the invention I will now describe the construction of an exemplifying form of the Inachine. y v

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a longitudinal diagrammatic section of one form of the machine and Fig. 2 is a front elevation.

The machine may be mounted on any suitable wheels and running gear.

Reference character 1 designates in general any suitable framework on which is carried the box 2 having abed 3. The feed belt- 4 runs along the bottom of the body and passes through openings 5 at the front and rear of the boX. The belt consists of 'side chains 6 and cross bars 7. Shaft 8 at the rear of the machine carries sprockets 9 to support the rear end lof the belt and shafts 10 and 11 carry respectively sprockets 12 and 13 to support and drive the forward end of the belt. Near the front end of the box there is a dischar e opening 14 through the bed. Below the ed, adjacent to the' discharge opening, are semi-cylindrical shields or hop ers 15 provided with blades or spikes 16 projecting inwardly, and within each of the hoppers is a rotary mixing shaft 17. Shaftsl 17 are provided with rotary spikes or blades 18 to coperate with the .blades 16 in the hoppers. Below the opening provided between the hoppers at the bottom is transversely arranged 'a trough 2O in which is a revolving conveyer 21, the helical blade of which is right handed on one side of the center and left handed on the other side so that material falling into the trough will be moved toward the lcenter by the conveyer. The trough is provided with a central discharge opening 22 and beneath this opening is arranged the forward end of longitudinal trough 23 in which is the helical screw conveyer 24. The rear end oftrough 23: is provided with a discharge opening 25.

On the forward end of the frame at a suitable elevation is mounted a tank 26, from which a pipe 27 leads past a valve 28 to pump 29 and then to a transverse spraying pipe 30 located in one edge of trough 20 and provided with spray openings directed into the trough. A second valve 31, if desired, may be placed between the pump and the spray ipe. Y

A rive pulley (not shown) may be placed on either of the rotary miXer shafts 17 as may be convenient, and connected to any suitable source of power. The'shafts 17 vare connected to revolve together by chain or belt 85. A chain orbelt 36 .connects the forward shaft 17 to-a transverse shaft 37 and a crankand pitman 34 on said shaft operate the pump 29. The shaft 37 also drives the shaft of conveyer 24` through bevel gears 38 and said shaft 37 falso drives, through a bevel gear 39, a worm shaft 40 carrying worm 41 engaging a worm gear 42 on` the lower forward sprocket shaft 11 and bythis means vthis a proper .proportion of any suitable phosphate such as 'phosphoric rock or lime in pulverized form 1s placed. The machine .being started, the belt-4 is impelled slowly toward the discharge opening 14 and t-he material in the boX falls between the rap-J idly'revolving blades 18 and is thoroughly cut up, broken and mixed by these blades cooperatingwith the stationary blades 16 in the hoppers 15. The thoroughly pulverized and mixed material then falls into tro-ugh 20 where it is further mixed and moved toward the central discharge opening by the conveyer 21. Tank 26 is filled with any suitable nitrate in solution and pump 29 or valve 28 is adjusted so that the pump will deliver the desired amount of the nitrate solution to the compost while it is in trough 20. The

solution is thus thoroughly mixed and incorporated with the solid portions of the compost and the whole mass is discharged from trough 20 into trough '23 and is further mixed and moved toward the rear end of the last named trough and discharged at opening25 and the material is then stacked up until. wanted for use. After the machine has once been started the operation may be made continuous by continuing tov fill the box as space is afforded at the rear end with the solid ingredients in suitable proportions.

The process, as will be understood from the previous description of the operation of the machine, consistsin combining 'fresh manure and marl, soil or sod, and suitable phosphates in pulverized form and thoroughly and intimately mixingthese materials and during the mixing process adding to the mass a suitable quantity of nitrate, potash compound, or other soluble fertilizing agent in solution.

My machine and process make it possible to form a compost of barnyard. manure which will preserve and make available in the most advantageous way the active fertilizing values of the manure. By utilizing the fresh material and mixing itthoroughly with marl, soilor similar material, the free les ammonia which would otherwise be leached out'or dissipated in the atmosphere is absorbed and preserved. The bacteria present in the manure act upon the inert,.materials in the marl, etc., and the chemical actions set up in the compost, when properly mixed according to my method, convert the original phosphates and nitrates of the marl, etc., and of the solid and liquid agents added' in the process, into active fertillzing elements which are available as plant food. The compost contains a large amount of humus which has great valuein renewing spent soil.` In the process of mixing,V the nitrate solution added to the solid ingredients solidifies'in minute crystals upon the fibers of the solid base and in this form the nitrates are so intimately combined. with the mass that they are not leached or washed away even though the compost is left exposed to air and rain for a long time.

It has been found by experiment that compost made according to my process has a greater fertilizing value than a much greater bulk or weight of manure alone and this re sult is attained at smaller expense, comparing actual money values, than would be required to provide the same fertilizing value in pure manure. In addition the fertilizer 1s made more readily available vforuse and 'in general produces better results than manure alone.

Iclaim': 1. A compost mixer comprlsing a box bed, a feed belt moving through the box for forwarding solid material disposed in the box, a rotary bladed beater disposed adjacent to the discharge point of said belt for thoroughly fining andmixing material delivered from the belt, a receptacle for fertilizer solution, and. meansfor spraying said solution upon the solid material adjacent to the beater.`

2. A compost mixer comprising a bed, a

'feedvbelt, a rotary bladed mixer, a trough below the mixer provided with a conveyer,

a tank, and means for delivering fertilizer l adjacent to` the 4.. In a compost mixer, the combination l of running gear, a frame thereon, a box ou the frame, a feed belt running on the bottom of the box, the box being provided with a discharge opening, separated hoppers below' the discharge opening, rot-ary mixers in the hoppers, a trough transversely arranged below the hop-pers, a helical conveyer in-the trough having a helical blade progressing in opposite directions from the center, a tank, spray pipe and pump4 for forcing fluid from the tank into the trough, the trough being ,provided with a central discharge opening, and a longitudinal trough arranged with its forward end beneath said discharge opening; and a helical conveyer in the last named trough.

5. A compost mixer comprising a boxbed having a discharge aperture near one end, a eed belt continuously moving through the box for dischargingsolid material through, said apertures, a rotary bladed mixerv beneath said -aperture for thoroughly ning and mixing material dropping through the aperture, a mixing trough below said rotary, mixer, a tank for a solution, and means for discharging solution from the tank upon said solid material.

6. A compost mixer comprising ahorizontally-arranged vbox having an aperture near one end of the bottom, a feed belt continuously moving over the bed of the box to carry solid fertilizer material to said aperture, a rotary bladedbeater beneath said v aperture, a mixing trough beneath said beater a lmixing device in said trough, a tank tor solution, and means for sprayingl 5 solution from said tank upon said solid material.-

7. In a compost mixer, the combination of a box bed, a conveyer for moving solid materia] through 'said bed to a discharge point, a beater at the discharge point of said conveyer for thoroughly inng and mixing the solid material, and means for supplying a fertilizing solution to the solid material.

' 8. In a compost mixer, the combination of a substantially horizontal bed, a conveyer continuously moving over the bottom of the bed for carrying solid material to a discharge point of said conveyer, a/beater adjacent to said discharge point for thoroughly ining and mixing solidmaterial de- I livered by the conveyer, means for supplying a fertilizing solution to the sohd material at a point adjacent to the beater, a mixing trough disposed below the'beater to receive material discharged therefrom, and a conveyer in said trough. v

9. A compost mixer comprising a box bed, a `feed belt moving through the box for forwarding solid material disposed in the box, a beater disposed adjacent tothe dis charge point of the belt for thoroughly ning and mixing material delivered from the v belt, a receptacle for fertilizer solution, and

means for spraying said solution upon the solid material adiacent to the beater.

. ARTHUR B. PICKETT.

Witnesses: F. Gr. DOPPMAEDEL, D. M. SMITH. 

